Paper shelf tags have long been used to display pricing information in association with the shelving on which various products are displayed for purchase. The tag provides product information, pricing information, bar codes which can be used for inventory control, as well as other information. While paper shelf tags are ubiquitous, they are somewhat cumbersome in use. Moving product location on a shelf requires removal of the tag. Updating of pricing also requires tag removal and or replacement. These characteristics of the shelf tag also result in the risk that the replacement tag is not placed in the correct location, that the replacement is not done promptly, or that the replacement is not accurate.
The above limitations have been overcome by the development and use of electronic shelf tags. Such tags utilize an electronic display, such as a liquid crystal display (LCD), display driver circuitry, programming interface circuitry, and other miscellaneous control circuitry to provide for the display of information relative to a product associated with the tag. Such electronic displays can display the same information as that provided by a paper shelf tag and can be updated with new information from a source that communicates with the display tag via wired or wireless communication links. The information source can be a centralized computer system and database that is disposed in the retail selling location or connected to such location via a communications network, including the Internet. Or, the source can be a portable hand-held device that is brought to a location proximate to the tag to be updated and couples its updating information to the tag via a wired or wireless communications link.
Electronic tags can also be used to provide cross-promotional messages or advertising for products other than that whose product description and price, etc. are being displayed by the tag. For purposes of this application, the subject matter of such cross-promotional messages or advertising shall be referred to as “second products” to distinguish them from the “first products” whose product information and pricing are also being displayed by the tag. So, for example, a display that displays information and pricing about digital cameras, i.e., the first product, could also provide cross-promotional messages or advertising about color printers, i.e., the second product, and the location of such second products. Another example might be one that displays a second product that is relatively unrelated to the first product, except for the shared target customer for both products. That is, a display that displays information and pricing about Apple ipods could also provide cross-promotional messages and advertising about BMWs. The obvious advantage is enhancing sales of the first and second products via targeted advertising to prospective purchasers of the first product. The relationship, however, in this example is a fixed one. The scope of the promotional advertising can be increased without significant decrease in benefit via knowledge of a prospective purchaser's demographic information or past shopping habits. So, for example, RFID tags carried by the prospective purchaser can be used to provide information about the purchasing history of a prospective purchaser. In this manner, the relationship between the first and second products can be dynamic and individualized to each prospective purchaser. The shortcoming of the use of RFID tags is that the wireless link is subject to noise and signal impairments and the prospective purchaser may not carry his tag at all times. It would be desirable if an arrangement could be devised that would permit a dynamic relationship between the second products and first products, one that would provide targeted messages geared to particular prospective purchasers in a manner that would increase sales of the products in a manner that would overcome the limitations of RFID tags.
Interaction between the customer and such an invention in a retail environment may also increase the information that a retailer or manufacturer can learn about prospective customers' shopping habits, interests and potential future transactions. The concept of “dialogue marketing” can be facilitated through the use of this invention by the acquisition and analysis of the customers' in-store shopping patterns.